In the beginning there was Wraygun…The band started out as a tribute to The Late Great Link Wray, by Phil Tiki and Jack “The Ripper” Conley.I was asked to play bass, for a “one and done” gig, that turned into 2, then 3, and 10 years later… The calls started coming in for bigger gigs, so we supplemented our set with some Surf, and we were on our way.We all met Susie at the same time, she mentioned she played Sax, and was asked to be in the band, real simple.Jack’s girlfriend, Shannon (at the time, now his wife), came in on second guitar, shortly afterward, and we had our lineup solidified.This quintet performed for a couple years, until Shannon left, enter Steve Martini…Steve came over from his very successful band, Cocktail Preachers, and, like me, never left.With Steve in the band, we soon changed our name to 13 Tikis, which was a band name Phil used for other things he was doing musically.Shortly after the name change, Jack left, enter Tony Long…Tony played with us for a short time before, naturally he was our first choice to be our new full time drummer.With everything solid again, we hit it hard, playing all over, having fun, like you’re supposed to, then…Phil Tiki, the man who put this all together, broke it to us, he was moving to Las Vegas.Not really knowing how to go on without the glue that held this band together, we had to figure something out fast.Enter Justin Collins…We met Justin at a Memorial for a mutual acquaintance, our respective bands were on the bill, and we hit it off.Justin became a fan of the band, coming out to gigs, showing support, so when we needed a guitar player, I gave him a call.Initially, I asked if he was interested in sitting in with us, I didn’t tell him Phil was leaving, he said “sit in, or be in the band, because I would really like to be in the band”.Without any vetting, Justin was in the band, where he is today.October 21st, 2016, we celebrated 10 years as a band, with the current lineup, as well as Phil Tiki and Jack The Ripper.We have no intentions of stopping anytime soon!I’d also like to give honorable mentions to these fine drummers, for putting time in with this band.Rick Kubic, Leslie Walle-Santos,Grant Ossler, Mark ManzoThere you are,a “short” history of 13 TikisLorenzo FridayBass Guitarist13 Tikis
Formed in 2005, Agents of Change has charted a course of their own by attempting to blend hip-hop, politics, and a DIY punk ethos. Over the years the group has performed hundreds of shows around Chicago and toured nationally; releasing several albums, EPs and mixtapes along the way. As the collective has progressed from a DJ/MC set up to a full band, musical diversity has become a prominent feature of their music, with many songs traversing between hip-hop/punk/reggae/dance/funk and beyond. The message behind the music is simple: educate yourself, challenge authority, demolish injustice and try to have some fun in the process.
Alcheystone is an original rock band from chicago. The group has several years of experience in the local and national scenes due to it’s members hard work and dedication to the craft of making unforgettable music.
ARSIS, which derived its name from the musical term “arsis and thesis” meaning unstressed (up-) and stressed (down-) beats respectively, makes music that is righteously tinged with black & thrash metal influences, but is completely dedicated to expanding the reaches of melodicism and technicality in the genre of death metal.
Austaras was born during Autumn 2008 in Chicago; while they have gone through their share of hardships, out of this turbulence has risen a fervent group of kindred spirits. While unmistakably a metal band, a myriad of influences are apparent – ranging from the darkest and most melancholic metal all the way to progressive rock, jazz, folk, and classical.
Chicago’s own Experimental/Folk foursome. Originally titled Moving Sunshine, the quartet re-named itself Young Sun….. Young Sun consists of four members, formed in mid 2009. The band is made up of Patrick Daniels (vocals/guitar/drum), Ryan Smith (vocals/guitar/bass/drum), Matthew Eble (vocals/guitar/bass/drum), and Erik Martin (vocals/percussion/drum).
YOUNGSTA
YOUR 33 BLACK ANGELS
Your 33 Black Angels is a rock band from Brooklyn, NY. The band consists of Josh Westfal (guitar, vocals), Dan Rosato (guitar, vocals), Adam Gerard, (guitar), Steve “Sunshine” Stapleton (bass guitar), John O’Callaghan (drums), Benji Kast (mouth harp, guitar, words), Jon Reeve (keys, squeezebox), Grant “Wanderson” Wanderson, and others. The band has produced five LPs to date, and is currently releasing a series of digital singles. It also tours extensively throughout North America and Europe.
YOUTH BRIGADE was formed at the end of summer 1980 in Los Angeles, amid the explosion of the punk scene in Southern California by brothers Shawn, Mark, and Adam Stern. The brothers Stern have established YOUTH BRIGADE as one of the most powerful, independent groups in North America over the course of their 25 odd years of existence. The basic philosophy of the band is that “youth” is an attitude, not an age and that every generation has the responsibility to change what they feel is wrong in the world. Unfortunately, it seems that many people either forget or grow weary of this responsibility as they get older in years, so the band feels it is really important that every new generation realize this responsibility and act upon it.
YP aka Backwood Jones is an Eastside Chicago rap artist that has made his city proud. Inking a deal with Universal/Republic Records in 2011, YP started the wave of signings that featured Chief Keef, King Louie, etc.
YP started rapping in 2007 and has evolved into a beast. He has opened for legends of the game, with Q-Tip & Nas co-signing his talent. Already releasing a half dozen critically acclaimed mixtapes between 2011-2013, be on the lookout for the next offering, Backwood Jones, in Summer 2014.
In June 2010, Workout Music won WGN’s Breakthrough Band contest which landed them a $10k recording at I.V. Lab Studios. Since then WM has gained popularity throughout Chicago headlining gigs at the House of Blues, Double Door and Elbo Room.
Workout Music prides themselves on their explosive live shows; creating dance party atmospheres with confetti, silly string, balloons, bubbles, custom projection and of course, Jameson.
Dance.Sweat.Rock is the motto – and exactly what you’ll get.
The World / Inferno Friendship Society is one band that might actually be worthy of being called a “society.” Consisting of 13 members, recruited from a dream list of “everyone who you never thought would make an album together” (the most peculiar listings from their resume include former members of Blues Traveler, Dexy’s Midnight Runners and the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons’ Half Time Marching Band), the World / Inferno Friendship Society plays every instrument known to man, and has dabbled in every musical genre you could name on a bet. Now this Music Theory class on wheels graces us with a sound that is too damn out there to be everyday pop, rock, ska, dance, or salsa (even though it sounds like all these), but is too damned goofy to qualify as serious prog-rock.
